Workforce AU
by BDoll
Summary: AU from episode Workforce, what if certain events had happened differently.


Title: Workforce  
  
Summary: AU from episode Workforce, what if certain events had happened differently.  
  
Author: BDoll  
  
Three times. Three Times. That was how many times they had preformed the genetic test.   
Today had started out so normal. He, Tom Paris had gone to work at the bar. He was   
even early. Kela-his boss-had smiled at him. She was happy that he was not only on   
time but early this morning.  
  
Then B'Elanna came in.   
  
B'Elanna took his breath away. The first moment that he saw her he momentarily stopped  
breathing. "Tom..." Kela had said, in that way that meant, "Get to work and stop   
daydreaming." He was the type to daydream. And then he was daydreaming about her,   
whoever she was. The woman that was sitting at a back table in the corner. How   
could he have missed some one like her coming in?   
  
Then he had found out she was pregnant. Pregnant of course translates to married,   
which of course translates to taken, not for him. He made a policy of not getting   
involved with married women. But she wasn't married.  
  
Even though she was not married she made it clear that a romantic involvement was out   
of the question. He decided at that moment to be her friend. She needed someone to   
look out for her. Why he felt this great need to do that he wasn't sure, but he felt   
like he should. That had been two weeks ago.  
Slowly but surely he had been building a relationship with her. First he introduced  
her to a couple that was also expecting their first baby. Then she and he would   
talk at the end of her shift, to the unhappiness of his employer, but she came in   
when it was slow so Kela let him talk to B'Elanna. He just wanted to be near her.   
Sometimes, it was odd but it felt like he had wanted to just be near her for a very   
long time, years in fact. Strange also was the fact that sometimes when they talked   
he felt like they had already had that conversation. Once when they disagreed about   
something when he was walking her home and they had argued, that even felt familiar.  
When he got home that night, after arguing with B'Elanna he lay in his bed and   
thought about it for a really long time. How could they have argued before? He   
thought about fighting with B'Elanna and realized that he didn't mind it all that   
much. In the far recesses of his mind he remembered someone saying, "You'll make up.   
You always do." Then he thought up the different ways to make up with B'Elanna and   
smiled to himself as he fell asleep.   
  
Then there was today. It was her day off. She had come into the bar, only to get   
something to eat he supposed. She was radiant. She seemed to become more beautiful  
to him everyday. He didn't know why. She was wearing that blue uniform, the same  
uniform that everybody at the plant wore. He figured that she was saving up credits   
for when the baby came and not replicating any new clothing for herself. She had  
mentioned something to that extent.  
  
He went to talk with her. He wanted to see how she was. And even though he knew  
it was impossible he wanted to hold her. He walked over to her. She smiled at him  
and then she fainted.  
Kela was feeling nice that morning so she had let him take her to the doctor.   
She apparently already had an appointment scheduled. She insisted that she could   
go alone. "I'm fine, really. I've gone to doctor appointments before."  
"Have you fainted before. Something could be wrong. You could faint again."   
Tom replied. She sighed and Tom knew that he had won.  
  
They walked in silence to the hospital. When they arrived there was a crisis   
happening and all the doctors and nurses were running around. Tom quickly   
grabbed a nurse. "There has been a accident in space. All the crew of the   
ship are being sent here." the nurse said. Tom pointed to B'Elanna, "She has a  
doctor's visit"  
  
"Go to the reception desk. See if your primary physician has been assigned   
to emergency work. If so, then you have to reschedule. If not, the receptionist  
can get you signed in." the nurse stated.  
  
At that the nurse left. Tom didn't correct the man and tell him that it wasn't  
*their* doctor, just B'Elanna's.  
  
Tom took B'Elanna's hand and told here to sit. "What's your doctor's name?"   
He asked her once she was settled in. "I can go up to the desk." she replied testily.  
"I know, but you need to rest. You never seem as though you rest." She looked like  
was going to disagree but she merely scowled and rubbed her lower back "Jarfine."   
She replied.   
  
"Hi." He smiled when he reached the reception desk. The woman behind the desk   
looked frazzled. "I wanted to know if Dr. Jarfine has been reassigned.   
You see..."   
"Do you have an appointment? As you can see we are very busy."   
Tom knew not to push his luck. "Yes" he replied.  
"Name" she asked  
"B'Elanna Torres." Tom said  
The receptionist tapped a few keys at her consol. "Ah, obstetrics. Yes...Torres.   
Okay Jarfine has been reassigned because of..." she waved her hand in the air to  
encompass the massive din "...to room 212. Down the hall and to your left.   
You're 45 minutes early you know. He is ahead of schedule so you shouldn't   
have to wait that long."   
"Thanks." Tom smiled and started to leave. "Wait" the woman said. "What's your name."   
"Huh?" He asked.  
"Well you are obviously not the pregnant one. This file is incomplete.   
There are some tests that need to be done. Where is your file, we want both parents."  
"Tom Paris, but..."  
"I can't seem to find your file. Where do you work, oh wait here it is,   
you don't work for the power distribution facility anymore, do you? Your file must   
have gotten lost. I can attach now if you want instead of Jarfine's office staff   
doing it latter. It really is a bad oversight. I swear the records that get lost   
or "changed" here...."  
The receptionist was rapidly tapping her consol as she said this.   
"Ah...don't do that..." Tom stated and tried to correct her but before he could   
another round of patients in need of urgent care came in and he was pushed out of the way.   
She seemed to have forgotten what she was doing. Tom figured that she hadn't had time   
to attach his file anyways so he went to go and find B'Elanna.  
"Come on B'Elanna" Tom said when he finally came over to her. "Jarfine is in room   
212 today. Down the hall and to our left. Lets get out of this mess."  
*****   
  
Tom and B'Elanna went into the small office room. "Listen you can go now. I'm fine."  
B'Elanna said.  
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least wait with you until to doctor comes.   
Anyways, it will only be a few minutes."  
B'Elanna looked at him and released that he wasn't going to budge. "Fine." She sighed   
in exasperation. " Sit here while I go and take to nurse."  
The nurse, a Norvalen women looked at B'Elanna. "Ms. Torres. How nice to see you.   
I just saw you file come in and have to run a few tests in accordance with the new   
information."  
'New information' B'Elanna thought 'Tom must have told that receptionist about me   
fainting. Jeez'  
"I am fine. Really" B'Elanna said. "I glad to hear that" the nurse responded   
"but we still need to run some test. Why don't you sit down and I will be right   
with you. We have all the information we need right here."  
  
Tom had read every informational PADD that the temporary office had. Apparently this  
office, today an obstetrician's office, was a rehabilitation center for people with   
Dysophia syndrome. Though Tom didn't have any medical training, or so he thought, the   
description sound off somehow.  
  
He looked over at B'Elanna who was still doing work on a PADD that looked like   
it came from the Power Distribution Facility.  
How long had they been waiting? Half and Hour, an hour?' He had lost count.  
Dr. Jarfine finally made his way over to B'Elanna.  
"Good afternoon Ms. Torres." B'Elanna slowly rose and Tom instinctively reached out to   
support her. "Fine" B'Elanna, obviously fatigued, spat out.  
The doctor seemed unperturbed. "Come with me."  
B'Elanna looked at Tom as if to say goodbye. The doctor then turned to Tom, "You must be  
Tom Paris. We just got you file so we have not done all the parental screening yet.   
Your DNA was present in the file so we were able to do a genetic resonance match and   
start to tests for any abnormalities."  
  
Tom's head was spinning. "I'm not the father." He said shakily. Even as he said these   
words he knew that a genetic match would have shown that and they would not have continued  
with the testing. How did he know that?  
  
"He's right. B'Elanna said. Sorry to inconvenience you, but you did those test for   
nothing."  
  
The doctors just looked at B'Elanna and then at Tom and then back at B'Elanna.   
"Perhaps the test was done incorrectly," Tom said.  
"That wouldn't create a false match." The doctor replied. B'Elanna looked at the doctor   
and said, "Do the test again. And then again. There is a mistake somewhere. I only meet   
this man last week."  
With that B'Elanna gave Tom a look and told him to stay where he was and marched past a   
flabbergasted obstetrician.  
  
  
Even after Dr. Jarfine said that there was no mistake B'Elanna insisted that the test   
be done again. And again An exact match. How can there be an *exact* match.  
When she left her examination Dr. Jarfine recommended that she meet with a psychologist.   
He obviously thought she was mentally unstable.  
  
B'Elanna began walking out of the office when she caught sight of Tom still sitting in the   
waiting room. She thought he would have left by now. He looked as stunned as she felt.  
  
"They did the test three times but there has to be a mistake, right? I mean, I just   
meet you last week." she said  
  
"The genetic test aren't wrong B'Elanna" Tom said. 


End file.
